Legislators led by Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo want the immediate approval of a proposed measure allowing agrarian reform beneficiaries to use their lands as collateral for banks and other financial institutions, a press release from Congress said.

House Bill 2707 amends Section 27 and 71 of Republic Act 6675 by lifting the restriction on the rights of beneficiaries to mortgage the lands awarded to them and allowing them to submit the certificate of land ownership as sufficient collateral for bank loans.

This is a step towards achieving genuine land reform, Arroyo, vice chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, said.

Other authors are Reps. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (1st District, Leyte), Arnulfo Go (2nd District, Sultan Kudarat) and Aurelio Gonzales Jr. (3rd District, Pampanga).

Arroyo said the country's experience on the implementation of the agrarian reform law has shown that insufficient funding does not fully secure farmers' livelihood and productivity.

The government has tried to address the problem by making credit more accessible through micro financing and other schemes.

But it should be noted that credit extended to farmer-beneficiaries under these programs are short-term and limited and thus unable to sustain the farm workers' pressing credit requirements, Arroyo added.*

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